On 2004, Law Professor Bruce Ackerman published a book, “Voting with Dollars”. It advocates that each adult U.S. citizen be empowered to send $50 to a federal candidate, or to a political party that has candidates for federal office. The money would come from the U.S. Treasury.
Ackerman and Ian Ayres have just published this article, reviving the idea, in The American Prospect’s on-line edition. See here for the article.